A strong finish on the back nine wasn't enough for Australian Jason Day to snatch the Qatar Masters as Scotland's Paul Lawrie claimed a four-shot win at the Doha Golf Club.
Day shot four straight birdies from the 10th to 13th but could only par the next four as his charge halted, with Lawrie shooting a fluent 65 to claim his second Qatar title.
Starting the day with a one-shot lead, Lawrie's eagle on the par-five ninth allowed him to pull away to a two-shot cushion over Day, who began with four straight birdies but had dropped two shots by the end of the opening nine holes.
Day ended tied for second with Swede Peter Hanson, who missed an eagle chance on the final hole which would have lifted him above the Australian.
Day was all praise for Lawrie at the end of the day's play.
"It's been a very successful week and I did everything I could to try and catch him," he said.
"The wind wasn't up as much as the last few days but I'm excited to be heading back to the US to try and take this momentum into the PGA Tour."
Lawrie, whose first win in Qatar came in 1999 - the same year he won the British Open in Carnoustie - was delighted after a bogey-free third round in the truncated tournament due to swirling desert winds on Friday.
"I don't think I can play much better than that," Lawrie said.
"I've been playing well for a long, long time, but it's just nice to come out one ahead and shoot seven under."
The victory ensures Lawrie a place in the 64-man World Golf Championships-Accenture Match Play in Arizona later in February and the 24-man Volvo World Match Play in Spain in May.
He is also on course to win a second Ryder Cup cap 13 years after his first, and if he manages to stay in the top 50 for another seven weeks he will make a return to the US Masters in April after an eight-year gap.
Lawrie added: "When you've got a chance to win a tournament you don't sleep as well the night before and things go racing through your mind.
"You've got to get back to basics and I did that. I hit some nice shots coming in."
Hanson said the way Lawrie was playing, others could only try for the runner-up position
"Paul played fantastic and hardly missed a shot," he said.
"He holed out when he should, made all those clutch putts and chipped in a couple of times. To go out in the lead and shoot 65 on this golf course is an unbelievable achievement."
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